title: Type D personality and depressive symptoms are independent predictors of impaired health status in chronic heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether Type D personality exerts a stable, independent effect on health status in CHF over time, adjusted for depressive symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  CHF outpatients (n = 166; 75% men; mean age 66 years) completed the Type D Scale and Beck Depression Inventory (baseline) and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire and Short-Form Health Survey (baseline and 12 months).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a general improvement in disease-specific physical (p = .029) and mental (p < .001) health over time, but Type D patients scored significantly lower on both outcomes (p < or = .001). The interaction effects Type D x time were not significant, indicating stability of the personality effect. Type D patients also scored significantly lower on all generic physical (p values between .001 and .04) and mental (all p values < or = .01) health status subdomains; these effects were also stable over time. Type D was an independent predictor of disease-specific mental health (p < .001), social functioning (p = .04), role emotional functioning (p < .001), bodily pain (p = .05), and general health (p = .04), adjusted for depressive symptoms, baseline health status and clinical characteristics. Depressive symptoms was an independent predictor of role physical functioning and bodily pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Type D personality and depressive symptoms were independent predictors of impaired health status in CHF.
authors.affiliation: CoRPS-Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic diseases, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. Angelique.schiffer@uvt.nl
authors.forename: Angélique A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Schiffer
authors.forename: Susanne S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Jos W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Widdershoven
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Denollet
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires